Counting of votes for the by-election to the Manjalpur assembly seat in Gujarat’s Vadodara city began on Monday morning amid tight security, officials said.
The bypoll, held on July 30, recorded a voter turnout of 37.5 per cent. The election was necessitated due to the death of senior BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Yogesh Patel on June 2 following a prolonged illness.
The counting exercise commenced at 8 am on Bhavan’s School premises in the Makarpura area as per Election Commission guidelines, with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) being taken up for counting under multi-layered security arrangements.
The by-election witnessed a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress.
The BJP fielded former Vadodara Municipal Corporation councillor Satish Govindbhai Patel, while the Congress nominated its Gujarat vice president and former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari.
Polling was conducted at 260 polling stations across 62 locations and passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. The constituency had recorded a voter turnout of 60.15 per cent in the 2022 Gujarat assembly elections.
Yogesh Patel, an eight-term BJP legislator, represented the Raopura assembly constituency in Vadodara five times between 1990 and 2007 before shifting to the newly created Manjalpur seat after delimitation.
He won the Manjalpur seat in 2012, 2017 and 2022, completing eight consecutive victories in the Gujarat assembly over a span of 36 years.
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